Hart Best Place to Live 4th Year in a Row

Once again the survey places Hart in top position, scoring highly on many measures including residents’ health and well being, employment levels, education, low crime rates, good broadband, low crime rates and even good weather.

Fleet Pond, Hampshire’s largest freshwater lake

The centre point of the Hart District is the town of Fleet, famed for Hampshire’s largest freshwater lake and boasting enviable open spaces of heathland and woodland. Top results for Hart include 97% of people reporting good health, an average weekly wage a third higher than the UK average, high employment with 4 in 5 16-64 year olds in work and even joint best life expectancy in the UK (males 83 compared to national average of 79.3*).

The Halifax use statistics from various reliable sources including the Office for National Statistics, Government Departments and the Met Office to compile the Quality of life ranking. Nearby areas which also feature in the top 50 include; Elmbridge, Winchester, Wokingham, Waverley, Bracknell Forest, Mole Valley, Surrey Heath, Guildford and Woking…though none were able to topple Hart from the top spot.

Property in Fleet currently for sale

Economist Martin Ellis from Halifax comments “Hart tops the Halifax quality of life survey for the fourth successive year. This is a remarkable achievement given the stiff competition that Hart has from several other areas. The leafy Hampshire district scores highly on several indicators such as: health, life expectancy, employment, average earnings, school results, and even the weather. Importantly adults rated themselves highly in a recent ONS personal well-being survey; they are satisfied, happy, believe what they do in life is worthwhile and are less anxious about their lives.”

Hart has been referred to as the most privileged and least “deprived” place in the country, and this commands a premium in terms of house prices compared to less favourable regions. Average house prices in Hart are almost 7.5 times typical local income, high when compared to lowest scoring areas like Omah (Northern Ireland) at just 3.82 times income and North Lincolnshire at 3.96 but offering excellent value in comparison to London boroughs such as Hammersmith and Fullham at 13.2 or Camden and Hackney at 12.3 times income. The national average earnings ratio is 6.2.

Now in the fourth year holding the title, the lives of residents continue to improve as satisfaction and happiness scores have gone up since last year and people in Hart are worrying less.